Alphas & Betas

MMOs in various stages of testing and crowdfunding, playable and… not. Don’t forget to follow our Betawatch and Make My MMO columns for a weekly rundown. [Follow this category’s RSS feed]

Unleashed Games confirms its MMO Haven will be used for additional titles made with generative AI

1
In the beginning half of the year, we started covering Haven, a developing MMORPG from Unleashed Games that promised gameplay beats familiar to those...

NCsoft Q2 2024: NCsoft says it’s not shifting focus away from MMORPGs

12
In the chaos of August financial releases and Gamescom, we overlooked NCsoft's Q2 2024 financial release, so we're tackling it now. Unfortunately, it's not...

They are so ugly they are cute: Palia adds potato pods and more in its next big beta update

1
It hasn't even been a month since Palia's last update, but the beta cozy MMO is already teasing its next patch. Daybreak-owned Singularity 6 (which...

Amazon boss: ‘We’re still trying to find the hook’ for the new Lord of the Rings MMO

36
With 10 titles currently in development, Amazon Games Studio is clearly hoping to diversify into success before sinking into unprofitability. One of the bigger...

SkyVerse is a new Bohemia-pubbed Minecraft-esque multiplayer survival sandbox

3
Of everything that's been newly announced during Gamescom so far, Bohemia Interactive's SkyVerse caught my attention quickest as a the type of cute voxelbox...

Marvel Rivals reveals Cap and Winter Soldier, Wakanda map, and December launch date

0
NetEase really did bring its A-game to Gamescom this year with a ton of new games on deck - including its new team shooter...

Soulframe releases a flashy gameplay teaser trailer from its preludes build at Gamescom

1
Soulframe is currently in its "preludes" phase - the five-dollar term Digital Extremes uses to refer to a test build - and it looks...

Funcom-published co-op sandbox Aloft targets a fall 2024 release

0
The well of creativity for survival sandboxes hasn't dried up yet, for better or for worse, and Funcom is determined to get in on...

NetEase’s adorable cozy game Floatopia invites you to ‘live your best life in the sky’

4
One of the bright lights of Gamescom's Opening Night Live was the reveal of a new NetEase multiplayer title called Floatopia that is clearly...

Nexon’s ARC Raiders, no longer F2P, gears up for fall test and 2025 launch

4
At Gamescom's Opening Night Live last night, Nexon's Embark Studios did more than drop a trailer for ARC Raiders: It also set an ambitious...

Nightingale releases new Realms Rebuilt trailer and patch date at Gamescom

4
Tencent's Inflexion Games has been talking up a major new update for early access multiplayer survivalbox Nightingale over the last couple of weeks. Dubbed...

Amazon and Glowmade announce King of Meat, a goofy co-op dungeon-runner

4
If you've been keeping an ear pointed at the rumor mill, you probably knew that Amazon was working on multiple new titles - and...

Greg Street’s Ghost MMO devs talk community, quest design, open development, and the beginning of outside playtests

0
When the devs at Fantastic Pixel Castle reference the community building around its MMO Ghost as a den of "wholesome chaos," it's clearly done...

Crimson Desert drops three more boss trailers showcasing its Gamescom boss battle demo

0
Pearl Abyss really outdid itself with its Gamescom presentation on Crimson Desert: It promised one trailer, and the studio already gave it, but it...

MOARPG Path of Exile 2 begins early access on November 15

5
At this afternoon's Opening Night Live show at Gamescom 2024, Grinding Gear Games formally announced that early access for Path of Exile 2 is...

Choose My Adventure: Fractured Online starts off unremarkably but comfortably

4
I always start off with a lot of concern whenever I enter a sandbox MMORPG for Choose My Adventure. Mostly because these games are...

RuneScape-inspired Brighter Shores says it won’t officially be complete until PvP arrives

3
With the early access launch of Brighter Shores planned for this fall, one big question's on the table for this RuneScape-inspired MMO: Will it...

Multiplayer hide-and-seek shooter Midnight Murder Club readies a closed beta test August 22

0
Last month we first heard about Midnight Murder Club, a new multiplayer PvP FPS from developer Velan Studios that basically tells players to go...

Ashes of Creation boosts its alpha access bundle offerings following gamer uproar

12
If you were among those who raised your eyebrows at the three-figure prices that Ashes of Creation was charging for access to its upcoming...

Make My MMO: Ashes of Creation’s alpha 2, Dual Universe’s player hosting

0
It's been an interesting summer for crowdfunded MMOs. Ashes of Creation has hit August running, first with a preview of the Bard class, then...